Points of Power
by fallen angel overlord
Summary: LaraKurtis. Things get complicated at a fencing club. But that's after you meet Lara's butler, her trophy room and the best way to get a Yankee on side
1. Chapter 1

**Tomb Raider: Points of Power**

_**Summary:** Lara Croft finds Kurtis alive and well in a hospital in Prague…of course no sooner do they arrive at Croft Manor then a new challenge arises. Yes ladies and gents…more trouble...actually they get into trouble a bit before that...are the two things connected or are they simply in two messes at once?_

_**Author:** Fallen Angel Overlord_

_**Rating:** PG_

_**Categories:** Action/Adventure/Romance_

**Chapter 1**

_The Hall Of Trophies_

As Lara climbed the ladder the Chirugai glowed – she knew it would lead her to Kurtis… but would he be alive or dead? Shaking the fears from her mind she continued to climb…her eyes adjusted to the dark and she kept on climbing up. Finally she shoved open a hatch and emerged in the pristine white snow of the Czech snow.

The trucks were parked nearby and it took her 2 minutes to hotwire one and drive out through the gates. If she'd looked around Lara might have found the assorted guards, gutted like fish or burned beyond recognition. But she didn't.

_Luvak Hospital – Prague_

The pull of the Chirugai was threatening to rip her arm off now; Lara had to run to keep up with its dragging movements. "I see Kurtis has rubbed off on it" she muttered. She finally reached the hospital room. Kurtis was lying on the bed with bandages tightly wrapped around his midsection. The Chirugai sprang from Lara's fingers and landed in Kurtis' hand.

"Lara" murmured Kurtis as he opened his eyes.

"I'm glad you remember me" she said. "How are you?"

"Got stabbed through by a giant insect-scientist…as well as can be expected really" he shrugged. "And yourself?"

"Confused…" she shrugged.

"Eckhardt?"

"Dead"

"You kill him?"

"Karel did…then he tried to kill me" Lara shrugged. "Turns out Karel was a Nephilim or half-Nephilim. He was the one who killed Werner Von Croy and knocked us out at the Louvre"

"Pretences – yeah they can shape shift into any humanoid form they want"

"He could also fly and throw energy at me…I think I preferred Eckhardts clone trick" Lara sighed, she sat down at the foot of the bed. "I destroyed the sleeper and Karel…how did you escape?"

Kurtis frowned. "What?"

"You were impaled…how did you get out of the Vault?"

Kurtis sat up gingerly and winced. "I…I don't know" he frowned, trying to remember. "It's impossible for me to remember…I just can't…"

Lara nodded slowly. "That's strange…someone got into the vault and lugged you out like a sack of potatoes" she cocked her head to one side. "A very puzzling and difficult move"

"Then again would you rather it was you who had to carry me out?"

"Definitely not" she snorted. She opened her backpack. "So…what do we do now?"

"I want to try and start the Lux Veritatus up again" Kurtis said. "But I can't help but feel there are loose ends. Gunderson for one…"

"I know I get that sense too…maybe we should review this all" Lara murmured. "Gunderson was human, so all we have to do is get the police on his trail – then maybe we can get some sort of break."

"Yeah…and I can go back to my pokey little flat in the Parisian Ghettos" snorted Kurtis. Then he slapped his forehead. "Except they burnt it out!"

"The Cabal?" Lara frowned. "Why did they do that?"

"Boaz thought I was still inside, she got some thugs to shoot the place up with me in it, then boarded up the door and set a fire. The whole place was fried – hence the fact I haven't changed my clothes in three or four days and now have a large hole in my shirts. Boaz again I wish I could kill her again to thank her for that…"

Lara sighed. "You can stay with me at Croft Manor" she said at last. "For however long you need to get back on your feet, besides I could use some help with my trophy room"

"You have a trophy room?"

"Just a few things" she shrugged. "Little relics I don't want people to nab, things that could be very dangerous in most cases or could cause a stir in a negative manner. Or just things that hold sentimental value."

Kurtis smiled. "Gee… okay, yeah I'd like that…thanks"

_The Prague Archive Halls_

The gaunt man scratched the back of his hand as the young woman ran a finger along the spine of the books. " If you could tell me what you wish to find miss… "

" I don't know what I'm looking for " she replied. " But I'll know when I find it "

Luther Rouzic had essentially lived in the archives for 20 years as the Librarian Honorarium of the Prague Archives and he knew better then to ask questions of a woman who had enough control to get herself into the halls by official channels when no one was allowed in and also to be given permission to take what she needed. She was well connected to say the least.

Rouzic just watched as she moved about, searching for the information.

_Luvak Hospital_

"Doctor I know my friend has been run through" Lara said. "But when can he be moved?"

The Doctor rubbed his forehead. "Your English" he nodded. "Yes…soon, but…well I just came to see if he could clear some things up. He claims he was stabbed through back straight through the chest but when we found him on the steps he had only a wound on his stomach which was stitched up…Why is this? It's an exit wound without an entrance wound – but there is scars on back of him that show he was run through time before…"

"I was stabbed by a freaky bug woman" Kurtis said through his teeth. "How hard can it be to see I was dying?"

Lara reviewed the charts the doctor showed her. "Apparently he's right, you gave a wound on the stomach but although you were bleeding to death it didn't go all the way through and your back only has scar tissue of an impaling wound -"

"But I've only been impaled once, two days ago!" exclaimed Kurtis.

"Another mystery" Lara said. "Calm down…we'll review it all soon, meanwhile we should just find out when you can leave"

"He can go this evening, but he must heal his stitches and not strain too much" the Doctor said in his relatively-okay English.

"Good, we should visit one place before we leave though" Lara said as the doctor left the room. "I need to pick up something from the Archives here"

"What exactly?"

"Just some texts I've been meaning to add to my library" she shrugged.

"You're very boring, you know?"

_The Prague Archives_

"Can I help you?" Rouvic grated from behind the mesh door. Lara looked at him over her sunglasses. He didn't like the looks of the man and woman outside the door.

"Lara Croft and Kurtis Trent I know we're late but we wanted to pick up some records copied for me" the woman said.

Lara watched Rouvic closely, he was gaunt and pale with a sickly look to him. But he also seemed nervous. "Yes…yes very well…come in" he mumbled. He pulled the bars off the door and let her in.

The Archives weren't open to the public but appointments were made for between noon and six. It was eight at night now. Rouvic was worried – very worried – the woman had made it clear that no one was to enter unless she had given him names to allow in. But if Lady Croft kicked up a storm…well things would get pretty ugly, pretty fast…

"I shall fetch them for you!" he said and rushed off down a hall.

"Something's wrong" Lara whispered.

"I can tell" agreed Kurtis. "Wait a second…" he closed his eyes and thrust out his hands.

Farsee vision zoomed down the halls and followed Rouvic. He stopped at a man in a black suit who nodded as Rouvic spoke: "Two people have come, they're in the lobby, what does she think we should do?" the man jabbed his thumb over his shoulder and Rouzic groaned before hurrying on.

Kurtis could read lips perfectly, it was part of his training and he was very thankful for it. He felt the strain as he continued to follow Rouvic. Then Gunderson appeared. "Two pe-"

"Croft and Trent" Gunderson sneered. "Don't bother her now, I will deal with them".

"But -"

"Just go and aid her…" Rouzic nodded and hurried away, terrified.

Gunderson grinned. "You two, get the others on full alert for a man and a woman…"

Kurtis returned to his body with a gasp. "Gunderson's here. The Librarian is apparently on the pay roll so we'd better get ready for trouble"

Lara pulled out her pistols. "Okay all set" she said. "Let's go and withdraw the books shall we?" she climbed a set of stairs nearby as Kurtis followed. They darted along a landing lined with books. The archives were quiet…except for footsteps…nearby. Lara darted down a passage. "Here" she said. "The records I want should be here"

She looked along the shelf until she found the series of books. "Yes…here!" she grabbed the small red and gold bound tomes. "Wait…one is missing…" she murmured. "The centre book – it's gone…"

"Did someone take it out?" Kurtis suggested as he watched for movement.

"No…no they'd need both books the centre book makes sense of the entire series – this is the only complete set in existence"

"What are they?"

"Books" a woman's voice said. "But these are rare ones, written centuries ago by a mystic who studied a great many things. These books are vital to a mystery long forgotten by mortal man. However the three sets have had an unfortunate accent, some books were destroyed others lost in places they can't be recovered…I have what I need…"

The woman stood at the top of the aisle with a pistol in one hand and her book in the other. "But you two seem not to possess anything you can use – poor you" she pointed the gun at Lara. "Mr Trent, throw down your ingenius little gun please – or I'll have to shoot your girlfriend."

Lara was on the verge of throttling the girl when Kurtis lowered his Boran-X to the ground.

"Thanks for being such a gent" the gril said in an Australian Drawl. "Well, must be off, try not to get into any trouble…Gunderson is in a trigger happy mood love" she darted off to one side…Kurtis hurled the Chirugai at the girl.

She whirled around – the blades met with flashes of light and bounced back to their owners. The girl waved at Kurtis with the Chirugai of her own then vanished down a passage.

"What was that?" exclaimed Kurtis

"She had the same gadget as you" Lara shrugged. "Listen, we have to see if Rouvic had copies of the central book as quickly as we can or we'll be bloody well screwed"

"Um…we already are"

The suited men aimed their Desert Ranger pistols…and fired.

_**TBC:** Next chapter: Lara starts to track down an obscure copy of the book as well as the person Gunderson is now working for. Kurtis is also investigating the shards…which are resonating energy he can sense…and they are sure as hell not in Prague or at least not according to the visions he's getting._

**Has anyone actually met Rouzic in the game? I haven't...**


	2. Chapter 2

**_Tomb Raider: Points of Power_**

_Archives of Prague_

The bullets flew. Kurtis thrust out his hands and the shockwaves of Telekinesis slowed the bullets, veering them off – he collapsed to his knees and grabbed his Boran-X. Lara was shooting at the men. Kurtis lifted himself to standing position and started to fire.

"Let's go" Lara exclaimed as they ran down the catwalk the way the girl had run.

"I'll look for Rouzic" Trent said.

"All right, I'll follow the trollop" Lara said. Kurtis sniggered. "We'll meet up at the car, but if that becomes compromised I have a friend at the Hotel Vosnich we can hide there." A shelf splintered near Kurtis' head. He gave her a thumbs up and dazzling grin before leaping down a staircase. Lara sprinted down the aisle of books and ducked in to her left. She saw the woman in the long coat.

"Wait til I get you, you glorified hooker" muttered Lara. She aimed and fired. The girl gave a shriek of surprise, glanced over her shoulder and saw Lara. With a hiss of rage the girl twisted and ran down the hall. Lara raced after her, up a staircase and across the metal catwalk. The girl fired over her shoulder and leapt off the catwalk to grab a lighting arrangement and swing onto a platform.

"Not bad" muttered Lara.

* * *

Kurtis slid down a ladder he focused his mind – he could sense people out, it was how he had found Lara a few times. Knew exactly where she was…he quickly descended the steps and searched the minds for Rouzic. He found him, fleeing down the lower levels. Kurtis rushed down into the dingy corridors.

He could sense he was gaining on Rouzic. "Hey Luther!" he called.

Rouzic turned around, fumbled with something and raised his hands. He had a gun… he fired at Kurtis but it was a bad shot. It hit the roof.

"Well that's a fine how-do-you-do" muttered Kurtis. Rouzic slammed the heavy steel door in the corner as he made his escape. Kurtis grunted as he tugged on it and tried to shoulder it down. At last he had to use all his telekinetic strength to blast it inward. He stepped into the room.

"Stop! I'll shoot!" Rouzic exclaimed from across the room. He aimed the gun. Kurtis expended the last of his energy on throwing the old revolver from the man's hands. "How did you do that…"

"Call it a party favour – pointing a gun at me doesn't get good results" Kurtis said as he raised his own pistol. Rouzic lurched forwards, the bony hand slapped frantically at the weapon in Kurtis' hands and for an anaemic looking man the Archive Librarian possessed considerable strength. The gun went off, there was a shot as the light went out then Kurtis crashed down. He looked up. Rouzic was staring up at a skylight murmuring prayers in Czech.

Like he was looking at the angel of death.

Except death didn't have a scythe.

It had a laser scope. The shot went off – with a cry Rouzic's head snapped back and his body was dragged along for the ride. He landed with a thud on the floor…eyes staring up at the ceiling, a single bloody hole in his forehead, just above the bridge of his nose…

"Damn" Kurtis muttered.

* * *

Lara shoulder tackled the bookcase. It moaned and toppled forwards. The girl continued her sprint towards a fire escape…the bookshelves slammed down and blocked the exit. The girl cursed in a familiar language and turned around.

With a grunt Lara lunged forwards and punched.

The girl was slender and petite with an angular face. Her sleek blonde hair was tied back by a clamp at the back of her head. She glared, her green eyes virtually glowed with rage. She punched Lara. Lara stumbled back and attacked. Feet and fists flew at one another. "Ms Croft – you have no idea who you're dealing with" the woman hissed.

Lara caught the woman's arm and flipped her over. The woman twisted to her feet and caught Lara's shoulder to swing her into a post, shaking her up. "Enlighten me" Lara exclaimed as she smashed an elbow into the side of the woman's neck and forced her away.

"All that was will be born again" the girl said as she kicked Lara in the side of the neck.

"That's a bit obscure" Lara added as she twisted the girls arm around behind her back

"Tough it's all your getting" the girl twisted free somehow and pulled out a pistol. "Ciao" she fired at the windows and shot out the glass – then with a running jump she vaulted out into the night. Lara rushed to the windows. The girl landed on a huge air mattress and rolled off it. Lara fired at the girl. The bullets pounded into the snow at the girls heels but she moved unperturbed down an alley and vanished.

"Bloody hell" Lara sighed.

There was a burst of rifle fire. Lara looked around, one of the Agency men dispatched by Gunderson aimed at her again and fired. Lara vaulted over the railings and landed on a bookcase, she ran across it and jumped again. She skidded as bullets bit into the wood she had been on moments before and slipped off the edge, dropping to the floor. She pulled out her Desert Ranger.

"Bloody magnificent" she muttered and darted off towards the passages.

* * *

Kurtis picked up the folder, it was filled with printouts, transcripts and copies…Lara's name was scribbled on it… this was what they'd come for and no point in just leaving it so…off they go.

Kurtis pushed Rouzic's desk to the wall and climbed onto it, from there he jumped up to the window the sniper had fired through and out onto the white coated roof of the building. Behind him the rest of the archives towered up. He walked over to the edge of the building and dropped down. He telekinetically slowed the landing and landed with a minor bump. "Okay Lara…where are you now?" he walked out into the street and to the side road they'd parked the SUV on. He got behind the wheel and turned his key in the ignition. Glad they had a copy he waited, the radio on but not the engine… idle, he waited.

* * *

Lara had taken the two books. They were useless without the central one but if she was lucky she could track down that elusive Other Copy. A burst of automatic weapon fire startled her from her concentration, she spotted Gunderson with his rifle and leapt through the air. She landed into a roll as bullets tore wood and struck metal behind her. She pulled out her pistols and fired at two men standing nearby. "Oh I hate these days" she sighed as she weaved around through the maze of shelves. As she ran bullets spat along behind her as the men followed. Lara fired and leapt, the widnow shattered as she kicked out, she plummeted downwards…her hand snagged the gutter and she jammed her feet into the wall, skidding to a halt, she looked up and then down. Snow far below…a mound of it…with a groan she let go and crashed down into the snow drift.

All was still in the alley then Lara burst out of the snow shaking flecks of white out of her hair and scrambling to get away. She sprinted like a gazelle out into the street. A shot rang out.

Leaning back against a red Jaguar convertible was the woman with the blonde hair. She held her Desert Ranger in one hand and her Chirugai (which didn't look identical to Kurtis' in ALL respects from what Lara could see) in the other. "Sorry love…you've meddled enough" the black vans in the square opened up and men stepped out with their weapons trained on Lara.

"Oh I see" lara noted. The SUV screamed from the alleyway, it skidded sending a wave of ice, slush and watery snow at the soldiers and woman. She shrieked in frustration. Kurtis hurled open the door for lara who'd been caught by a small wave caused by Kurtis' stunt.

"Need a lift Lady Croft? Your night in a shining SUV is here"

"Drive Trent" Lara groused. The SUV roared off, shots hit the back but did no major damage.

"So impressed yet?" grinned Kurtis

"I'm cold and wet because of you…the only reason I don't shoot you is because you're driving. If you want to die please continue talking and stop driving"

* * *

_The Hotel Vosnich_

Lara sauntered in, dripping and looking annoyed with the messy Kurtis behind her. Across the lobby someone watched from behind a magazine.

"Lady Croft the Empress Suite" she said.

"Yes of course Ms Croft" the receptionist said. "With best regards from Mr Cravak – he has already had some clothes sent up for you". The young man looked Kurtis over, they were contrasted and he seemed to take pride in seeing that - the receptionist had slicked back hair, a suit and a cheerful expression.

Kurtis was messy, dishevelled and dour in his appearance.

"Send a tailor up to the room for my friend – maybe some extra clothes as well?" Lara suggested. "He needs it in case you hadn't noticed" she took the key with a smile.

Kurtis and Lara walked into the elevator and Lara pressed the 25th button. She spotted something as the doors closed, she couldn't see who but she could see someone watching them. "We're not safe here for long" Lara said.

"I felt someone watching us…maybe the sniper who shot Rouzic wants to shoot me?" Kurtis suggested. "I swear this is like a game of cat and mouse"

"Indeed" Lara said. "But which one are we? The girl's comment about: all that was being born again…its familiar somehow." She shook her head and rubbed her temples and stepped out of the elevator as the doors opened.

The suite was luxurious with a huge Queen sized bed, en suite with Jacuzzi and a mini bar. Kurtis had radar of some sort, Lara noted, he made a beeline for the minibar while she went to shower. When she returned he was turning on the widescreen to watch something.

"You watching the game?" she said with a smile.

"yeah you know about the game?"

"No there's always a game of some sort, it's a great comment for some celebrity dinner parties" she walked over to the cupboard in her robe and took out the clothes. "Shower's free go and enjoy it".

Kurtis groused about it being "about time" and headed in. The hiss of water came from behind the door as Lara changed behind her screen, she pulled on the jeans and black sweater before walking back out. Kurtis was standing there in his towel looking frustrated.

Lara drank in the abs.

"I've got nothing clean to wear" he groaned.

"The tailor will be here soon" Lara muttered. "Stop whining you baby" she tore her eyes away from his naked chest and checked the food trolley. She opened the box of chocolates and popped one in her mouth.

"Where'd that come from?"

"Cravac the hotelier is an old friend of mine, he sends me the same food everytime I'm here" she nodded appreciatively. "He's got excellent taste anyway, I'm never disappointed." There was a knock at the door. "That should be your clothes now". She opened the door and the young man in the red blazer, white shirt and black trousers and bowtie of the hotel staff handed her the bundle of clothes.

"Thank you" she smiled.

"No problem" he replied. "Compliments of the house" he handed her a white envelope. "Good evening" he walked down the hall. Lara's eyes drifted to his feet… he was wearing sneakers.

"Stop!" she exclaimed. The boy glanced over his shoulder at her then stepped into the elevator and vanished. Lara rushed to the lifts to try and catch him but she arrived in time to have the doors between them close – the boy winked at her… and was gone. "Kurtis, call reception, tell them there's a boy in the building imitating an employee" she reviewed the card he'd given her – it was too thin to be a bomb – she had to open it.

Carefully she slipped a knife from her pack into the top and slit it open carefully – the card within was red and swirling black writing covered it. At the top was a crest with two crossed swords on a shield portraying a castle.

"You are cordially invited to Blackwyn Fencing Club in London by Lord Henry Blackwyn on Wednesday the 18th at 2 pm sharp" she read.

"Security are on the look out but they say the elevator cameras have been shut off somehow" Kurtis had changed into the red sweater and baggy khaki cargo pants. "What did the guy give you?"

"An invite – and this" she held up a coin with an intricate pattern on it. "I get the feeling the COIN was the big delivery and the letter was a secondary". She frowned and then opened a laptop on the desk out. "First things first I'll tell Winston to prepare for us tomorrow, then the next day we visit Lord Henry…next we concern ourselves with these pleasant people trying to elude and murder us"

Kurtis nodded then something occurred to him. "How did you know he was a fake – the boy I mean?"

"Because his sneakers were neon green – and clashed terribly with his shirt. Mr Cravac would never allow those shoes in a million years" shrugged Lara. "We'll set to work on this case tomorrow morning when we're on the flight to England".

"What no dinner?"

"I never said that, we'll order room service…then you can sleep on the sofa"

"Typical."

**!-TBC-!**

Next chapter: They return to England in the hopes of finding out what's going on. They commence the tidy up of the trophy room and we here some of Lara's old stories, also more questions then answers come from the Fencing Club Luncheon - and there's murder!


	3. Chapter 3

Tomb Raider: Points of Power

Croft Manor

Kurtis' mouth formed an O of impressed awe as the black cab passed through the gates to the gravel path of the vast manor. The doors opened and Winston stepped out. Not Winston Senior, his grandson Ben – Ben was 23 now – Lara had pulled strings to get him to take up the duties when Winston fell ill (she'd practically had to push Winston into a car and tie him to a seat to get him to head out for his relaxation). Now Ben was doing his grandfathers job while the original Winston was staying in Ireland with his son and daughter-in-law.

Ben was tall and tanned with platinum blonde hair on his head. He beamed as he saw Lara and ran towards her. "Lara I'm so glad you're back" he laughed. Lara hugged him tightly. "Who's this?" Ben asked.

"Ben Cartland – this is Kurtis Trent whom I encountered in Paris"

"The boy who groped you then left you for dead?"

"Yeah me…uh groped?" Kurtis frowned at the Irishman's tone. "It was a search!"

"How many times have we heard that one before?" Ben laughed as he pulled the bags from the taxi and carried them into the hall. "I've left some tea and cakes in the Trophy room. When I heard there'd be guests I assumed that you'd want to really wow them" he smiled. "Of course I could always move them to the maze or the Quad bike course…or the outdoor pool"

"How big is this place?" murmured Kurtis.

"A few dozen acres" Ben smirked as he headed up the steps in his black suit to leave Lara to guide Kurtis to the trophy room. The door hissed open as Lara let the retina scanner in a small mirror glow over her eye. She pushed a panel on the wall and it clicked open so she could access the keypad.

Punching in the code Lara smiled. She led Kurtis into the room, past the reinforced steel doors. "I need some help tidying up" Lara shrugged. The lights clicked on as she pushed a button. Kurtis whistled. "Hope you'll help"

The room was warmly decorated and the walls had large wood panels all over. The big windows were covered by iron bars that were shaped like curling iron leaves. "The glass is bullet proof, if its broken steel shutters come down instantly – the entire room has its own generator" Ben said from the doorway.

Kurtis raised and eyebrow at the boy's wardrobe. He wore a black chauffeur's outfit – it had been tailored to be free moving and fashionable. He looked like a male model or something – Kurtis had expected a high collared tuxedo with white cloves and coat tails or something. Plus the kid was younger then he was…so…that wasn't what he expected at all.

Ben was a lot less old fashioned then his grandfather – Lara had liked that. It had reassured Winston he would never be replaced and the old man had been happy his Grandson was settling into a respectable job.

Lara put her backpack on a hook, there were other backpacks as well on that wall along with pictures of outfits drawn be a designer. "So…we'll have tea and get started after" Lara smiled. Kurtis sat down in the high backed chair as Ben poured tea then went off to fetch the cleaning things.

"I thought you said Winston was your butler"

"That is Winston"

"You said he'd looked after you since you were young"

"Oh – no that's Winston the Third. Uh my Winston is Charles Winston that's Ben Winston, Ben's standing in while Winston has a break he's been ill recently" she explained. "He's gone back to Ireland to have a little peace. I practically had to hold him at gun point."

She laughed a she remembered that. "So what do you think of my humble trophy chamber?" Kurtis looked around. "I'll just turn the trophies on" she said enigmatically, rising and sweeping over to a key pad. With a few taps on the keys she initiated the safes.

Tall cabinets rose from the floor, sections of the wall pulled back and glass cases pressed forwards while others popped out as if from a toaster. The wall on the fire place became highlighted and the tyrannosaurus skull appeared clearer. Kurtis let out a whistle. Lara opened a few cabinets of books and then looked over the display cases on either side of the fire place where all the weapons she'd used over the years were lit by special lights.

"Holy Ravioli" breathed Kurtis.

Lara laughed. Kurtis smiled at her. "So what help do you need?"

"I'm cataloguing everything onto a new computer system my friend Zip has made for me" Lara explained, sipping her tea and waving at the laptop in a wooden book case built into a wall. Kurtis walked around the room, looking into columns that had slid open to reveal more display cases.

"What's this?" he asked, pointing at a case containing a small stone.

"That's the Philosophers stone" Lara said.

"As in the lead into gold, Harry Potter and the, alchemists searching for it Philosophers stone?"

"Yes, I got it in Rome, one of my early outings" lara said.

_**Lara climbed the last few steps and continued her climb to finally reach the place she'd fallen down. **_

_**She focused her mind, concentrated her breathing and sprinted, she soared through the air and landed on the platform, the old stone creaked and crumbled, she slipped but caught the end, she dragged herself up and dusted her shorts and top off. **_

"_**So hard to find good masons those days" she snorted. She reached out and claimed her prize.**_

"Wow" mused Kurtis. "Did you ever use it?"

"The price was too high, to use the stone would require a little part of my spirit every time until greed consumed and ultimately destroyed me – that's why it was so well hidden in the ruins" she shrugged. Kurtis moved on and whistled.

He was standing at a case that showed a set of shattered rings Lara had no intention of putting back together. "The Scion – perhaps my most memorable adventure – I undertook it not realizing Jacquelyn Natyla was a psychotic Atlantian with homicidal tendencies and the urge to get her full powers back"

"I remember her…she was a ho" Kurtis said. "She disappeared – did you kill her?"

"A case of me or her I assure you"

_**Natyla flew over head and unleashed an energy blast, Lara dived to one side, rolled and fired her shotgun. Natyla flashed with energy as she was hit, then she cackled and swooped. Lara rolled aside.**_

"_**Give up Croft I cannot be stopped"**_

_**Lara flipped aside once again and fired. "I beg to differ"**_

"_**You're a dead woman Croft" shrilled the CEO**_

"_**Better then an ugly one I suppose"Lara taunted.**_

_**Natyla shrieked and swooped down, flying close to the ground, straight at Lara – the tomb raider smirked and vaulted over Natyla's sweeping form as it shot like an arrow toward her. The woman crashed into a pillar with a sickening thud she struggled to her feet…Lara walked forwards and kicked Natyla down. Natyla hurled a blast that knocked Lara away.**_

"_**You're DOOMED CROFT" shrieked Natyla. Lara rolled to her feet and somersaulted over the woman, she caught the lady's shoulders as she twisted in the air, putting a foot on Natyla's back she flipped her over. Natyla was flung but rose unperturbed. "I can't be defeated fool!" **_

"_**I suppose" Lara shrugged she looked at her diver's watch. "But I can try" the grenade exploded. Natyla screamed and the pillar she'd crashed into gave way as the force of the explosion affected its fragile lower area.**_

_**Natyla looked up.**_

_**The Pillar came down.**_

"Ouch, squashed CEO" muttered Kurtis.

"Very messy…not as messy as that one though" she pointed at the Eye of Isis. "Sophia Lee of Lee cosmetics -"

**The energy bolts from the other building burst behind her but Lara kept running, she hurled herself over a gap, rolled under some pipes and vaulted a chimney. **

"**You're going to be a lot less pretty when I'm done with you CROFT" Sophia screamed as she charged up the energy again.**

**Lara ignored her, flipped aside from another blast and vanished from view. Sophia looked around, she fired at a shadow but there was no scream of pain…had she missed or had it even been Lara Croft?**

"**Over here dear" Sophia glanced to her right, across the electrified bridge stood Lara Croft, her hand on a fuse box. "Don't look so shocked" she pulled the lever. Sophia screamed…**

"Wow…what about the dagger?" Kurtis asked, pressing his face to the glass panel on the wall where a gold and crimson decorated blade glowed under a display light.

**The dragon belched out a cloud of flame…and exploded as the grenade exploded in its mouth.**

"Oh…just something I picked up – no big deal"

Kurtis smiled and Lara motioned to the boxes in the corner. "I need to put up the Hall of Infamy" she explained. "All the crooks I've dealt with"

"Whos the cowboy?"

"Hm? Oh that's Lawson…He…bit off more then he could chew" she smiled, then walked over to the laptop and began to type away.

------------------BREAK

Ben served the steaks and then declared that, having eaten earlier, he was off to polish the Rolls. Lara and Kurtis sat alone, the soft candlelight flickering with the fire place's flames… "He's a good cook – most American's can't do steak this good"

"He takes after his grandfather, very adept at cookery" she smiled softly. They sat in silence for a while. "So what are you planning?"

"Well we've already gotten stuck with a mystery, what's the deal with those books?"

"They're texts relating to Ancient Egypt, I was looking into them when my friend Werner Von Croy called, when I arrived in Prague I checked my email and Ben had sent details too me, it was a stroke of luck I was in the city at that time" she sipped her wine. "They tell a story, but they're three parts of one, without the core text I can't decipher anything and the other 9 copies have been destroyed and lost over generations – a Philosopher named Karlosion wrote them". She tapped her fingers on the table softly. "He went mad during the Reneissance and died in an asylum."

"Glamorous History surrounding the books then" Kurtis mused. He brow creased as he remembered the blonde Australian girl. "But that girl…she used a weapon of the Lux Veritatus…I thought I was the only one left". He looked at Lara.

She nodded. "I sent a sketch to my friends in New Scotland Yard, they'll e-mail me tomorrow if they find anything at all" she said quietly. "Now eat your steak and I'll show you the media room."

"What's there?"

"A giant Television"

"I'm in"

"I thought you would be, Yankee"

--------------------BREAK

The Rolls Royce cruised down the city, Ben was at the wheel with his carefully kept black chauffeurs hat and all. Lara sat in the back loading a small pistol she then slid into her bra holster.

"Lord Blackwyn was a friend of my fathers – personally I never liked him" she admitted. "But I haven't seen him in ages. Whatever the reason he wants us to come to his fencing club – it's probably important. He doesn't just try to reconnect out of the blue"

Kurtis watched the scenery pass by, he'd not been in London before – well not the nice parts…or at daytime…or for longer then an hour or two while a flight connection was delayed. "Why are we packing heat then?"

"Because even snobs can be treacherous on greater levels then we first believe" Lara shrugged. "Ben, you can go shopping or something – your anniversary with that girl… Caroline…it's coming up soon"

Ben snorted. "Was. We called it quits. She didn't like my lifestyle – apparently guns kill people and cars kill the earth…I should never have dated someone from Greenpeace – I had to point out that though I'm a member I do have a job"

Lara nodded and climbed out of the car.

The Blackwyn Fencing Club was a large building in London that had banners out front displaying its gold crest on a dark blue background. Lord Blackwyn greeted them, he was a portly gent with a bad comb over of white hair and a tweed jacket.

Kurtis felt uneasy in the stiflingly upper class surroundings – Lara glided through it…born to mingle. "What exactly did you want to tell us?" Lara asked as Lord Blackwyn seated them on a balcony over looking the main lobby.

"Well… I understand you are looking for something – a piece that was stolen from the Prague Archives" he placed a brown paper package bound with string on the table. "It's something that came into my possession by chance – a friend of mine contacted me while you were In Prague and told me that you'd been involved in a gun battle, I recalled what you were currently researching, watched the news and well – generally I suspected this old book is what you were looking for"

Lara took the package…she paused, Kurtis was tense beside her.

"I'm sensing hostility" he murmured. "More importantly – I'm sensing someone watching us" nearby one of the fencers had defeated his ninth opponent in two and a half minutes. He spun around and hurled the sword.

Lord Blackwyn fell forwards, the sword had gone straight through his side.

The fencer turned and ran. "I'll get him!" Kurtis exclaimed, pulling a pistol from his leg holster. Lara nodded as she rushed to Blackwyn's aid.

"They…warned be" mumbled Lord Blackwyn. "They said…that…I was holding a dangerous thing…they…just – didn't say - - - they'd send **_him_**" he gave a gargling noise in the back of his throat and went limp as Lara tried to tend to his wounds.

Kurtis raced after the fencer but the man vaulted a table, kicked open a French window and climbed with eerie speed up a drainpipe onto the roof. Growling and swearing in French Kurtis followed. On the roof the fencer was pulling on a black leather bikers outfit.

He turned around. Kurtis fired but the young man performed a sideways roll and hurled a knife at Kurtis. The Lux Veritatis warrior twisted aside and fired again. The fencer tossed aside his mask as he sprinted towards the end of the building, pulling on a motor bike helmet. He flipped off the roof into a swan diver.

"DAMN!" Kurtis swore as he darted over to the edge. The boy grabbed a balcony on the building opposite, kicked off it to a lamppost and slid down the pole. He straddled a motorcycle and looked up at Kurtis. With a salute he sped off.

------------------------------Later

The police carted the body away and Lara finished her statement. She walked with Kurtis back out to the Rolls Royce. "Why was he killed?" Kurtis mused sarcastically. "Oh that's right…the package"

Lara opened the paper swiftly and efficiently, deftly slitting the folds and sliding it away. "The central tome" she said. "This is what I need!"

"Good" nodded Kurtis. "But why kill for it?"

"We should find out" decided Lara.

She had a feeling in the base of her spine that something truly sinister was happening

TBC:

Next: Find out who the blonde girl is. What she is. How she got a Chirugai.

Lara and Kurtis go in search of answers to sinister questions from the book

And is Karel dead?


End file.
